What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We asked several people in our media class to watch our rough cut, with mixed opinions:

Pros:

• Visually well done, good camera techniques used.
• Good choice of setting, captured the social realist feel.
• Costume design stuck to convention, fitting props used.

However, there were also some cons:

• Story was somewhat confusing.
• At times, certain editing techniques (like quick cuts and fades to black) felt out of place or had the audience confused at was going on.
• The audio was off, meaning that at times it was too loud or too quiet. Or that the captured sound (like wind) created a static like noise.

From this, we realised that if we didn't make these changed in time for the final cut, the film would be confusing and overall poor quality. First, we tackled the problem of the story being too confusing, as we believed that without a coherent story, the film couldn't succeed. However, we wanted to find the right balance between just handing the plot to the audience and making them think about it and each member getting something personal from the film. So we decided that adding a first person narrative from the character would help the audience understand his motives.

Next, we decided to combat the confusing editing techniques that were holding the film back. We removed all colour correction and visual effects so that we could start completely from scratch. We played back the film and noted down what people thought was confusing. The quick cuts made the pacing off, so some scenes were too quick. So we attempted to make longer cuts on shots, like in the drug deal scene, we extended some clips as much as we could.

We played back the film and individually adjusted the audio levels of each clips. We then attempted to remove the wind feedback, but it was too difficult to do on a short time scale, so the best thing we could do was try and adjust the volume of the clip so the sound of the wind wasn't too overwhelming. We couldn't replace the audio of the clip entirely as it contained bits where the actors were speaking, so we had to compromise on what we could do. Also at times, we used sound effects to override the raw diegetic sound from the clip. For instance, at one point we had to use an outdoors environment sound effect to cover up certain things, like the audio cutting too early in a clip.

After letting the audience watch our second rough cut, the only problems that remained was that the music we used was too clichéd. Finally, people kept commenting on the story still being slightly confusing, although the voice overs did help. So we decided to remove the music entirely, as it only detracted from the film. Next, we developed on the idea of adding more voice overs to add to the narration, trying to make the story as black and white as we could whilst still retaining several shades of grey.

Film Log - 14/3/2011 - Second flashback

After the filming of our first flashback, we had a clear idea of where we wanted to go with our film, so planning for the second flashback was slightly easier than planning for the first. By this time, the type of locations we wanted became much clearer so going out to find a location was less stressful.

In this scene, the anti-hero is caught by the dealer and the client from the last flashback and engages in a chase sequence. Instantly, we planned several hand-camera shots so we could create a shaky camera, which would create a crowded, tense and constantly moving scene. Into the scene, the dealer and client break off from each other, so we planned to have shots that would track each of them, creating a triple perspective within the scene.

However, we didn't manage to film the whole thing as it was quite a lengthy scene, so we have planned to film next lesson to finish off the scene and to also film the parts in between flashbacks.

Editing log -10/03/2011 - Editing first flashback

After filming, we uploaded our footage to begin work on constructing the first flashback scene and how it could carry on seamlessly in the timeline, especially since it isn't chronological order.

After putting each clip in order and cutting unneeded parts, we happy with the way the filming had turned out. At points however, some 180 degree rules were broken, although we managed to work around it and fix it by replacing the ordering of some shots that didn't affect the continuity. Also, sometimes on certain shots we hadn't filmed for long enough, so the pacing at points wasn't quite the way we wanted it, however we still believe it works the way it is.

To distinguish the flashback scenes from the present day scenes, we applied several effects to try and create a blatant although not overpowering effect. After adjusting the contrast and exposure and applying a bleach bypass, we believe it looks distinguishable but also implies a darker atmosphere.

Next we plan to film the second scene and will begin polishing and refining what we have currently got.